Can I get it?You must have worked for your employer under a contract of service. Even if it is your first day of work with a new employer and you become sick part way through the day you may be entitled to SSP.

To get SSP you must be:

Sick for at least 4 or more days in a row (including weekends and bank holidays). This is known as a Period of Incapacity for Work. Earn, before tax and National Insurance an average of £90.00 a week. This is called the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance Contributions (NIC). The amount you need to earn is lower than the amount when you have to start paying NICs or would start paying if you were treated as an employed earner. Your earnings are averaged, over an 8 week period before your sickness began. This period may vary slightly depending on whether you are paid weekly or monthly paid, or at other intervals. If you have just started your job the calculation may be different, contact your employer for more information.

If you answer YES to all the above, claim SSP

If you want to know how much you have to earn for NI purposes, go to the HM Revenue and Customs Website.

top of pageWhen does SSP start? SSP is a daily payment and is usually paid for the days that you would normally work. The days that you would normally work are known as Qualifying Days (QDs)

SSP is not paid for the first three QDs, in any period of sickness unless it falls within a linking period. See - What else should I know for information about Linking Periods

top of pageHow much will I get? The standard weekly rate of SSP is £75.40 from 6 April 2008 to 5 April 2009.

Your employer will work out a daily rate of SSP by dividing the weekly rate by the number of qualifying days in that week. For SSP purposes the week always begins with a Sunday.

top of pageHow do I claim? Telling your employer you are sick

To get SSP, you should tell your employer that you are sick as soon as possible. You employer may have their own rules for when and how you tell them you are sick (please check with your employer).

However they cannot insist that you tell them:

in person earlier than the first qualifying day or by a set time on a special form on a medical certificate more than once a week during your sickness Your employer may not pay you SSP if you tell them you are sick more than 7 days after you first became sick.

Evidence that you are sick

Your employer will ask you for evidence that you are sick. This will usually be in the form of a sick note from your doctor.

But your employer cannot ask you to provide a sick note, for the first 7 days that you are sick. They may ask you to fill in a self-certificate of their own or form SC2 which you can get from your GP's surgery, or HM Revenue & Customs website.

top of pageHow is it paid? Your employer will pay SSP to you in the same way and at the same time as your normal wages.

top of pageWhat else should I know? If you have more than one job you may be entitled to SSP from each employer.

Your employer cannot end your contract of service to avoid paying SSP.

If you are away from work because of trade union action, you will not get SSP.

If you are in legal custody, you will not get SSP.

Linking

If you have been sick for two spells or more of at least 4 days in a row with 8 weeks or less between them, they will be counted as one Period of Incapacity for Work. This means that waiting days will not be served for the second period of sickness.

If you have been in receipt of Incapacity Benefit (IB) or Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) within 8 weeks of being sick, you are not entitled to SSP because you can reclaim IB or SDA. Some people will also be entitled to reclaim IB or SDA if they are sick again within 104 weeks of a previous illness, and would not be entitled to SSP during this time. You will have received a linking letter from your Jobcentre Plus, give this to your employer.

Pregnancy

If you receive SSP for a pregnancy related illness at the start of or in the 4 weeks before your baby is due, SSP will stop and any entitlement to Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) or Maternity Allowance (MA) will start automatically.

If you are entitled to SMP or MA, you cannot get SSP under any circumstances for 39 weeks starting with the day of entitlement to those payments.

If you are not entitled to SMP or MA, you cannot get SSP for a period of 18 weeks. For more information about this, please contact your employer or the HM Revenue & Customs employee helpline 0845 302 1479

Occupational Sick Pay Schemes

Many employers have their own sick pay scheme. If your employer has a sick pay scheme, which is equal to, or more than SSP, they may have different rules for payment, which you must keep to receive payment.

Other information:

If SSP ends, claim Incapacity Benefit (This link will take you to the Jobcentre Plus website)

The Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) will be introduced on 27 October 2008, and will replace Incapacity Benefit for new customers only.

top of pageWhat happens if my employer says I do not qualify or my SSP ends? If you cannot get SSP or your SSP has ended ask your employer for form SSP1, which they must fill in and give to you. You will need to contact the Jobcentre Plus Contact Centre who will explain what you need to do with this form and how to claim Incapacity Benefit. You will find the number in your local telephone book under Jobcentre Plus.

If you think your employers decision to not pay you SSP is wrong, or they did not pay when they should have done, or they paid too little and you cannot sort it out with your employer (they should give the reasons in writing), contact HM Revenue & Customs Disputed Payment Team to decide the matter. Find their address at www.hmrc.gov.uk/enq/index.htm

top of pageImportant changes to form SSP1 Form SSP1 has been changed to reflect the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) from 27 October 2008. The new version SSP1 (10/08) is easier to complete, as information about periods of sickness and the SSP paid are not required for claims to ESA.

This means that:

where SSP has been paid and ends on or after 26 October 2008; or where there is no entitlement to SSP on or after 27 October 2008 the new version of form SSP1 (10/08) should be completed. However

where SSP has been paid and comes to an end on or before 25 October 2008; or where there is no entitlement to SSP on or before 26 October 2008 the old version SSP1 (04/07) must be used.

This is because employees will still come under the IB regime which still require information about sickness and paid SSP.

top of pageEmployers: You can download a Statutory Sick Pay Form - for employers to explain why they cannot pay SSP For details on how to administer and pay SSP, visit the HM Revenue & Customs website at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers/employee_sick.htm

You can download the old and the new versions of form SSP1 in PDF. The forms do not apply in Northern Ireland. Please complete and return the appropriate form as soon as possible as your claim will depend on the date we receive a completed claim form.

Get help with PDFs We recommend that you save the relevant file to your computer hard disk, CD or another form of transportable media before printing it. To save a copy of the relevant file to disk right click with your mouse on the appropriate form link below and choose the 'Save Target As' option. SSP1 (04/07) (88KB) SSP1 (10/08) (228KB)

NOTE: See the Important changes to form SSP1 section above to check which verison of the form you should use. There is also a version of the SSP1 (10/08) (223KB) that can be completed on-line and then printed. Please note this version cannot be saved on-line and must be printed before exiting.

The forms come with notes that will help you fill them in the form and tell you what to do.

Please contact the eService Helpdesk if you are having technical difficulties:

downloading the form printing a hard copy top of pageI am already getting it. What happens if: I go into hospital?SSP is not affected however long you are in hospital.

I go to live abroad or to visit? If you work abroad you may be able to get SSP if your employer is liable to pay NI contributions for you. If you go abroad to visit, SSP can still be paid provided you can prove you are still sick. Most other benefits are affected if you are going abroad. You can get more information about certain countries through this site.

I am part of a service family living abroad or visiting? Serving members of the Armed Forces cannot get SSP, but members of their families may be able to get it. See above.

top of pageMore information You can get information about SSP from the HM Revenue and Customs employee helpline, 0845 302 1479.

If you are an employer, get in touch with your local HM Revenue and Customs NI Contributions office for more information or phone the Employers Helpline on 0845 7 143 143.

HM Revenue & Customs website: www.hmrc.gov.uk

Other help Incapacity Benefit (this link will take you to the Jobcentre Plus website) Income Support (this link will take you to the Jobcentre Plus website) Housing Benefit Council Tax Benefit Remember that this website is only a general guide to benefits and schemes and is not a full and authoritative statement of the law. We have made every effort to ensure that the information on this website is correct at the date shown at the top of this page. However, changes in the law may make the website become gradually less accurate.

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They may mean that she cannot get company sick pay (which would probably be more generous) but that does not mean that she would not qualify for SSP, provided she met all the conditions detailed above.

She can also ask if there is anything she can do at work with a broken arm so that she does not lose out on pay. Once she is over the initial shock of the accident.